Both Doug Melvin and Neal Huntington were expected to address their first-base issues externally this offseason, but neither general manager has made a move on trade candidates like Ike Davis and Justin Smoak. The Brewers have Juan Francisco penciled in as their regular at the position, while the Pirates are relying on one of Andrew Lambo and Chris McGuiness to emerge as a viable platoon partner to share time with Gaby Sanchez.

If Carp’s breakout 2013 season with the Red Sox is any indication, he could offer a nice upgrade for either of the National League Central clubs, though his left-handed bat might fit particularly well in Pittsburgh. The 27-year-old Carp compiled a .312 True Average in 243 plate appearances for John Farrell’s squad last year, and he did virtually all of his damage against right-handed pitchers (.320 TAv compared to .253 versus lefties). Carp is something of an oddball, thriving against secondary pitches while struggling to get around on some fastballs, but production is production, and teams could do far worse in their search for a long-end platoon bat.

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